Ferrer moves into semifinals in Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand (Sports Network) - David Ferrer continued his quest for
a fourth straight Auckland championship with a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Slovakia's
Lukas Lacko in quarterfinal play Thursday at the Heineken Open.

The top-seeded Ferrer, who won this event in 2007 and in each of the last two
years, has been building on a successful 2012 when the Spaniard finished as
the tour leader in titles (7) and match victories (76). He was a
quarterfinalist or better in all four Grand Slams.

Next up for Ferrer will be Gael Monfils of France, who took down No. 3 seed
Tommy Haas of Germany by a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 margin.

The other semifinal in this final Australian Open tune-up will pit No. 2
seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany against fourth seed and 2009 finalist
American Sam Querrey. Kohlschreiber, the 2008 champion in Auckland, downed
Belgium's Xavier Malisse, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Querrey upended Canadian qualifier
Jesse Levine, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).